State scan: BJP shows it is the strongest force in urban Maharashtra

Dynastic rule in the Congress and NCP, even at district and tehsil levels, has worked against the parties

The BJP’s opponents in Maharashtra are becoming wary of the growing clout of the party in urban areas of the state, sending alarm bells among friends and foes alike when the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls are not far away.

The victory of the BJP in the Sangli-Miraj and Jalgaon municipal elections has come as a bolt for the rivals of the ruling party. Sangli-Miraj is part of sugar-rich western Maharashtra, considered the turf of Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Not long ago, it was the stronghold of the late Vasantdada Patil, a Congress veteran.

The Jalgaon civic body was controlled